You might remember a little while ago I took a look at goaltenders who had a bit heavier burden in terms of team quality and situations than other goaltenders. Even though this had little bearing on the goaltender's performance numbers (namely, even-strength save percentage), it does call attention to the varying difficulties at the position. Rather than just isolating this study in the most recent season, I decided to expand the research to all seasons in the Desjardins Era (beginning in 2007-08 to the present). Focusing on single seasons this time, let's have a look at some of the toughest (and easiest) team situations in NHL goaltending the past five seasons.

Before looking at the leaders and losers in the composite ranking, I first want to look at the individual categories I used to create the final index - starting with Fenwick On (be fore-warned: there be many tables ahead, yarrr):

Yr

NAME

Tm

Fnwk ON

Yr

NAME

Tm

Fnwk ON

07-08

Kari Lehtonen

ATL

41.355

11-12

Brian Elliott

STL

54.222

07-08

Jason LaBarbera

L.A

42.875

07-08

Fredrik Norrena

CBJ

54.240

10-11

Niklas Backstrom

MIN

43.221

10-11

Antero Niittymaki

S.J

54.271

07-08

Ty Conklin

PIT

43.226

09-10

Vesa Toskala

TOR/CGY

54.300

07-08

Johan Hedberg

ATL

43.251

08-09

Jose Theodore

WSH

54.429

08-09

Craig Anderson

FLA

43.664

11-12

Tuukka Rask

BOS

54.500

08-09

Joey MacDonald

NYI

43.820

11-12

Jimmy Howard

DET

54.509

08-09

Karri Ramo

T.B

43.825

07-08

Evgeni Nabokov

S.J

54.599

09-10

Scott Clemmensen

FLA

43.839

08-09

Martin Brodeur

N.J

54.604

10-11

James Reimer

TOR

43.896

07-08

Henrik Lundqvist

NYR

54.749

08-09

Jaroslav Halak

MTL

44.103

09-10

Chris Osgood

DET

54.981

07-08

Mathieu Garon

EDM

44.342

08-09

Ty Conklin

DET

55.159

08-09

Ilya Bryzgalov

PHX

44.430

08-09

Brian Boucher

S.J

55.918

11-12

Josh Harding

MIN

44.548

08-09

Cristobal Huet

CHI

56.022

09-10

Ondrej Pavelec

ATL

44.659

08-09

Chris Osgood

DET

56.274

10-11

Jonas Hiller

ANA

44.845

10-11

Ty Conklin

STL

56.366

09-10

Jonas Hiller

ANA

44.875

09-10

Antti Niemi

CHI

56.485

11-12

Niklas Backstrom

MIN

45.200

07-08

Chris Osgood

DET

57.945

10-11

Jose Theodore

MIN

45.251

09-10

Cristobal Huet

CHI

59.053

11-12

Pekka Rinne

NSH

45.257

07-08

Dominik Hasek

DET

60.196

Why hello, Detroit Red Wings and Minnesota Wild goaltenders...

Now, 5v5 team shooting percentage:

Yr

NAME

Tm

5v5 S%

Yr

NAME

Tm

5v5 S%

11-12

Josh Harding

MIN

5.680

07-08

Marc-Andre Fleury

PIT

11.000

09-10

Chris Osgood

DET

5.753

08-09

Marc-Andre Fleury

PIT

11.000

09-10

Brian Boucher

PHI

5.836

08-09

Craig Anderson

FLA

11.004

09-10

Tim Thomas

BOS

6.107

10-11

Anders Lindback

NSH

11.040

08-09

Brian Boucher

S.J

6.207

08-09

Manny Legace

STL

11.048

11-12

Niklas Backstrom

MIN

6.223

07-08

Peter Budaj

COL

11.107

10-11

Scott Clemmensen

FLA

6.294

09-10

Ondrej Pavelec

ATL

11.120

07-08

Alex Auld

PHX/BOS

6.466

11-12

Tim Thomas

BOS

11.232

07-08

Jonah Hiller

ANA

6.601

09-10

Semyon Varlamov

WSH

11.277

10-11

Martin Brodeur

N.J

6.642

08-09

Manny Fernandez

BOS

11.277

07-08

Ilya Bryzgalov

PHX

6.715

11-12

Chris Mason

WPG

11.284

08-09

Patrick Lalime

BUF

6.735

10-11

Ty Conklin

STL

11.338

11-12

Curtis Sanford

CBJ

6.838

08-09

Brent Johnson

WSH

11.364

10-11

Mathieu Garon

CBJ

6.929

10-11

James Reimer

TOR

11.429

07-08

Wade Dubielewicz

NYI

6.960

10-11

Jonathan Bernier

L.A

11.700

11-12

Jean-Sebastien Giguere

COL

6.996

08-09

Johan Hedberg

ATL

11.748

08-09

Peter Budaj

COL

7.004

11-12

Sergei Bobrovsky

PHI

11.993

08-09

Henrik Lundqvist

NYR

7.023

11-12

Marc-Andre Fleury

PIT

12.351

08-09

Joey MacDonald

NYI

7.036

11-12

Jimmy Howard

DET

12.358

11-12

Jose Theodore

FLA

7.091

09-10

Andrew Raycroft

VAN

12.724

09-10

Jose Theodore

WSH

12.862

A little more argument for Marc-Andre Fleury being the benefactor of those very good teams. Also, a little surprising to see Chris Osgood on the left side of these lists.

The next metric, a little Frankenstein's Monster of mine, is a mashup of 5v5, 5v4, and 4v5 time, looking at the percentage of that total time that is consumed by 4v5 time:

Yr

NAME

Tm

4v5%

Yr

NAME

Tm

4v5%

08-09

Antero Niittymaki

PHI

13.842

09-10

Martin Brodeur

N.J

8.245

07-08

Dominik Hasek

DET

13.641

11-12

Tuukka Rask

BOS

8.178

07-08

Wade Dubielewicz

NYI

13.589

10-11

Martin Brodeur

N.J

8.169

08-09

Dan Ellis

NSH

13.228

11-12

Steve Mason

CBJ

8.146

08-09

Jean-Sebastien Giguere

ANA

13.114

09-10

Alex Auld

NYR

8.140

07-08

Antero Niittymaki

PHI

13.088

11-12

Ray Emery

CHI

8.132

07-08

Martin Gerber

OTT

13.045

10-11

Jonas Gustavsson

TOR

8.106

08-09

Mike Smith

T.B

13.039

09-10

Antti Niemi

CHI

8.098

07-08

Nikolai Khabibulin

CHI

12.860

09-10

Pekka Rinne

NSH

7.955

10-11

Mike Smith

T.B

12.836

10-11

Corey Crawford

CHI

7.849

07-08

Jean-Sebastien Giguere

ANA

12.784

11-12

Cam Ward

CAR

7.840

08-09

Jason LaBarbera

VAN

12.733

11-12

Pekka Rinne

NSH

7.767

08-09

Jonathan Quick

L.A

12.719

11-12

Ryan Miller

BUF

7.742

09-10

Ty Conklin

STL

12.512

11-12

Corey Crawford

CHI

7.736

07-08

Miikka Kiprusoff

CGY

12.471

09-10

Dan Ellis

NSH

7.641

07-08

Mathieu Garon

EDM

12.407

11-12

Martin Biron

NYR

7.587

07-08

Patrick Lalime

CHI

12.328

11-12

Evgeni Nabokov

NYI

7.553

08-09

Karri Ramo

T.B

12.300

11-12

Antti Niemi

S.J

7.199

08-09

Johan Hedberg

ATL

12.293

11-12

Jonas Gustavsson

TOR

7.069

07-08

Roberto Luongo

VAN

12.278

11-12

Scott Clemmensen

FLA

6.351

What's really interesting here is the number of players from 2011-12 dominating the right side of this list. Obviously, there's been a league-wide decrease influencing the numbers.

The final metric is 4v5 Fenwick-Against/60, to give a slight bump (or downgrade) for the volume of shots allowed on the PK:

Yr

NAME

Tm

4v5 FA/60

Yr

NAME

Tm

4v5 FA/60

08-09

Craig Anderson

FLA

82.8

07-08

Martin Gerber

OTT

54.2

11-12

Dwayne Roloson

T.B

82.6

09-10

Brent Johnson

PIT

53.6

11-12

Ray Emery

CHI

82.5

11-12

Marc-Andre Fleury

PIT

53.4

09-10

Curtis McElhinney

ANA

80.7

10-11

Martin Brodeur

N.J

53.3

10-11

Cory Schneider

VAN

80.2

11-12

Carey Price

MTL

53.2

10-11

Ilya Bryzgalov

PHX

78.2

11-12

Al Montoya

NYI

53.2

11-12

Evgeni Nabokov

NYI

77.4

09-10

Martin Brodeur

N.J

53.2

07-08

Jason LaBarbera

L.A

77.2

08-09

Chris Osgood

DET

52.8

09-10

Tomas Vokoun

FLA

77.2

09-10

Niklas Backstrom

MIN

52.5

08-09

Tomas Vokoun

FLA

76.3

09-10

Semyon Varlamov

WSH

52.2

09-10

Marty Turco

DAL

75.9

11-12

Martin Brodeur

N.J

52.1

09-10

Jonas Gustavsson

TOR

75.9

10-11

Johan Hedberg

N.J

51.9

09-10

Jean-Sebastien Giguere

TOR

75.3

11-12

Ilya Bryzgalov

PHI

51.6

11-12

Scott Clemmensen

FLA

75.3

07-08

Dan Ellis

NSH

51.5

09-10

Manny Legace

CAR

75.3

07-08

Chris Osgood

DET

50.8

09-10

Pascal Leclaire

OTT

74.5

10-11

Ty Conklin

STL

50.6

10-11

Jonas Hiller

ANA

74.5

08-09

Dan Ellis

NSH

50.5

10-11

Cam Ward

CAR

74.5

08-09

Pekka Rinne

NSH

47.6

11-12

Mike Smith

PHX

74.2

07-08

Patrick Lalime

CHI

46.5

09-10

Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers

EDM

73.9

07-08

Dominik Hasek

DET

43.1

As Nashville is a frequent target of over-counting accusations (not entirely unfounded, thanks to a number of studies), it is interesting to see their penalty-killing in the right column. Evidence that it was a very good kill? And now for our composite crapped-on index (the results are of 257 goaltender performances, 20+ GP):

Yr

NAME

Tm

Cmp Rk

Yr

NAME

Tm

Cmp Rk

11-12

Josh Harding

MIN

3.6

08-09

Manny Legace

STL

37.9

11-12

Niklas Backstrom

MIN

5.8

09-10

Marc-Andre Fleury

PIT

38.2

08-09

Joey MacDonald

NYI

7.0

08-09

Nikolai Khabibulin

CHI

38.3

11-12

Curtis Sanford

CBJ

8.5

11-12

Martin Biron

NYR

38.7

07-08

Wade Dubielewicz

NYI

9.0

11-12

Tim Thomas

BOS

38.8

11-12

Jhonas Enroth

BUF

9.3

11-12

Tuukka Rask

BOS

38.9

10-11

Nikolai Khabibulin

EDM

10.3

09-10

Ray Emery

PHI

39.7

08-09

Karri Ramo

T.B

10.8

11-12

Corey Crawford

CHI

40.0

09-10

Jean-Sebastien Giguere

TOR

10.9

10-11

Jonathan Bernier

L.A

40.2

11-12

Cam Ward

CAR

11.4

08-09

Brent Johnson

WSH

40.8

09-10

Martin Biron

NYI

11.5

10-11

Corey Crawford

CHI

41.0

09-10

Mathieu Garon

CBJ

11.7

11-12

Chris Mason

WPG

41.1

09-10

Carey Price

MTL

12.2

09-10

Andrew Raycroft

VAN

41.1

09-10

Antero Niittymaki

T.B

12.4

11-12

Marc-Andre Fleury

PIT

42.4

11-12

Nikolai Khabibulin

EDM

12.6

08-09

Ty Conklin

DET

42.6

07-08

Tomas Vokoun

FLA

12.7

09-10

Semyon Varlamov

WSH

43.5

11-12

Tomas Vokoun

WSH

12.9

08-09

Manny Fernandez

BOS

43.9

11-12

Miikka Kiprusoff

CGY

13.4

11-12

Jimmy Howard

DET

44.8

09-10

Tomas Vokoun

FLA

13.7

09-10

Antti Niemi

CHI

47.7

10-11

Jonas Hiller

ANA

13.9

10-11

Ty Conklin

STL

51.3

Any question why Tomas Vokoun left Washington for Pittsburgh?

Now for the big one: within each season, I took the composite ranks and ordered them 1 through whatever, I ranked the 5v5 save percentages 1 through whatever, I ranked the 4v5 save percentages 1 through whatever, and I weighted the three 10/8/2 respectively to comprise an overall, crapped-on, performance index.

Obviously, you probably don't want to get too excited about the 20-game performances, though it has some indication of skill. As per usual in stats circles, Vokoun's and Hiller's performances jump out at you, as should Niklas Backstrom's efforts. And hey look! It's Vesa Toskala! Remember him?

Conclusion

Lest I exhaust, I'll save the best total performances and instances of being crapped upon across the last five years for a future post. In the meantime, let me know if you'd like information on other goaltenders' performances or breakdowns of the composite ranks that I've used above.

Benjamin Wendorf was co-manager of the SB Nation Winnipeg Jets blog Arctic Ice Hockey (formerly Behind the Net); he is currently in the PhD program in Africology at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee and posts at Hockey Graphs.. You can follow his graph work at Hockey Visualized or his tweets @BenjaminWendorf. He can also be reached at wendorf DOT benjamin AT gmail DOT com.

Good stuff. I was actually looking at this last week to see the workload that Cam Ward had over the years and was shocked to see how bad the Thrashers possession metrics were during the 07-08 season. Talk about a bad team.

i'm a little surprised to see the flames ace place so low twice. can u lay out some thoughts on his placements please? thanks

The two seasons in question, 2008-09 and 2010-11, are two of three seasons in Kipper's career with the Flames where his performances were notably mediocre (to people in and outside of Calgary). 2007-08 was pretty rough, too, but Calgary was not quite as good of a team, and caused him to face a lot of penalty kills. Anyway, in 08-09 and 10-11 Calgary was a solid team outside of the net (by Fenwick Rating), were fairly good shooters (providing goal support), and didn't saddle Kipper with an unusual amount of 4v5 time. Despite this, Kipper played poorly, turning in a very average 5v5 SV% in 10-11 and one of the worst in 08-09; his 4v5 SV% was flipped, average in 08-09 and poor in 10-11, but I weight performance more towards 5v5 time since it accounts for something like 75% of all ice time.

A person who were more familiar with Kipper's seasons in 08-09 and 10-11 might be able to provide some insight into why he played poorly (injury, style change, equipment change, something psychological), but I'd wager that there was something uniquely different beyond variance and talent for him. Goaltenders who regularly play 70+ game and 4000+ minute seasons (7 years and counting) don't usually swing so wildly in performance. In fact, they rarely get the chance to; a lot of times they lose the job or get traded.

I would find this page more interesting if the data was sorted in a reasonable manner. As a hockey stat jockey novice, I find your presentation makes it impossible to understand what I am looking at. What is FenwickOn and I wish your column groups had titles so that I can actually understand what I am looking at. Time to flame me, but alas I probably will never read this blog again.

I would find this page more interesting if the data was sorted in a reasonable manner. As a hockey stat jockey novice, I find your presentation makes it impossible to understand what I am looking at. What is FenwickOn and I wish your column groups had titles so that I can actually understand what I am looking at. Time to flame me, but alas I probably will never read this blog again.

Google "What is Fenwick", and this is the first result: http://www.matchsticksandgasoline.com/2011/7/29/2290643/understanding-advanced-stats-part-one-corsi-fenwick